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12 June 2017

Arrowmont 2017

Just finished up a week of teaching at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. It was just as wonderful as I had heard from everyone who had been there although different than I had imagined.

It was hard to imagine the bucolic and creative campus juxtaposed with downtown Gatlinburg full of lights and tourist attractions that had been described to me. Here are some pictures of the campus and the interior of the main building, and some student work, before I shock your senses with images from Gatlinburg.

Staff house.

Textiles studio above and other interiors of the main art building below. Such a beautiful building.

I taught a week long workshop called The Boro Aesthetic: Creating Fiber Art Pieces Inspired By Japanese Textiles. In the class I introduced students to Japanese mending techniques and we looked at Boro textiles, Gee's Bend Quilts, and contemporary artists working within the same aesthetic for inspiration. Students were also asked to bring an old garment to deconstruct so that they could play with existing seams, lines, and other elements inherent to the garment as a starting point for their pieces. We also covered block carving and printing, cutting stencils and image transfers. Here are some of the results:

Needless to say the students were varied and talented. I think that the people I met was the most remarkable part of the week.

I'm sitting in the Nashville Airport as I write waiting for a shuttle to Shakerag where I will be a student for the week. Can't wait for that! I've been posting to Instagram if you want to follow along (@wishiwashistudio).

And, now I leave you with some crazytown images of downtown Gatlinburg: